July 2016 – CRW

2016-07-30 The Great North Woods

Every year I do my best to find the time to get to Northern Maine. For me, it has almost become a pilgrimage, and I look forward to this annual trip as a way to get off the grid and ironically, recharge. I find that I am most at peace when I can get away from it all and be close to nature. Where I go there are no cell phones, texts or emails, or anything resembling a meeting or appointment… unless you consider a sunrise rendezvous with a moose to be a meeting. This year I planned six nights in Northern Maine (with my father in-law Lee Cordner and good friend Jim Borden), with four of these nights totally off the grid, however a family emergency drew me home after only half of the trip. Although my visit was short and sweet, I did have two days to enjoy the wilderness, and for that I am thankful. (more…)

2016-07-09 The Sun in Hydrogen Alpha

A couple of months ago I posted a white light image of the Sun captured by using a solar film placed over the front of a camera lens to protect the equipment (and my eyes) from the damaging effects of the suns intense light. This method works very well for visual observation and basic imaging of sun spots, but does not allow for capturing any of the more dramatic details such as the surface texture, filaments and prominences. Ever since those first imaging sessions where I shot white light images of the sun I became determined to capture more than these simple sun spot images. (more…)